Scooby Doo: After the invasion
by MysticalPanda
Summary: After the gang split up due to the others finding love and wanting to settle down, Shaggy and Scooby feel like they're missing out since neither of them have been able to find love after Crystal and Amber.


Shaggy and his canine pal Scooby-Doo were slumped on their front porch looking up at the sky, something they've picked up since Amber and Crystal had left.

"I ris rhem" Scooby sighed sadly.

"Like I do too bud" Shaggy said letting out a heavy sigh.

The always hungry duo were so deep in thought that they didn't even hear their female friends, Daphne and Velma walk up.

"Hey you two, do you want to come with us to the Malt Shop?" the redhead asked.

"Yeah, it be fun. We really miss you two" Velma added.

"Ro ranks" Scooby said laying down.

"Like, thanks girls but Scoob and I aren't hungry" Shaggy said.

"Aren't hungry!" Velma and Daphne said shocked.

"Like we ate awhile ago" Shaggy said looking at them.

"You are always ready to eat" Velma said.

"We'll be fine, just go enjoy your meals" Shaggy said with a smile

After saying goodbye to Shaggy and Scooby, Velma and Daphne walked to the Malt Shop after they had ordered, the redhead and brunette sat down waiting for their food.

"Do you think the guys will ever be okay?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah, they'll be back to their old selves in no time. Crystal and Amber were just their first real loves" Velma said.

Daphne nodded, she knew like the rest of the gang that Shaggy and Scooby had plenty

of past girlfriends but none were as special to them like Crystal and Amber.

When their food was brought to them they began to eat while making small talk about what's been going on in their lives.

"So want to hear something interesting?" Daphne asked as she bit into her salad.

"What about?" Velma asked taking a bite of her burger.

"Bram told me that him, Johnny and Fred are all competing to see if you, me or Thorn end up pregnant first" Daphne said with a scowl when she brought up Thorn.

"Really?" Velma said focusing on her food.

"Velm? What is it?" Daphne asked looking concerned picking up the voice change from her best friend.

"Well-" Velma started to say before getting cut off by someone calling out to them, "Hi Velma. Daphne"

Daphne gritted her teeth at the sound of the woman's voice, it was Thorn the lead singer of the Hex Girls and Fred's fiancee.

Thorn walked over to them not bothering to sit down, "I can only stay for a moment. I have to talk to Fred about something important before I leave for my concert tonight"

"Where are you performing tonight?" Velma questioned interested.

"Garden City" Thorn replied.

The three girls heard Fred's voice say, **'I love you'** repeatedly.

Velma and Daphne looked around expecting to see their blonde former leader when Thorn let out a small giggle, "Sorry about that. It's my ringtone"

"Hello?" Thorn said into the phone as she let out a small wave goodbye to Velma and Daphne while making her way towards the door talking to Fred.

"I can't stand that woman" Daphne huffed as she took a drink of her soda.

"I thought you liked the Hex Girls?" Velma asked looking at her best friend.

"I used to until that woman stole Fred!" Daphne hissed in anger.

"Oh come on Daph, it's been years now. I thought you were over him?" Velma asked.

"You don't get it Velma. Fred and I were meant to be, we were the perfect couple" Daphne said dreamily.

"It's the past, let it go" Velma said suppressing an eye roll.

"Why should she be the one marrying him and carrying his last name and possible future children" Daphne pouted.

Velma sighed as she said, "You and Fred weren't even together when Thorn came into the picture"

"Humph, well before you and Johnny became serious he constantly hit on other girls" Daphne said crossing her arms.

"I already know this. He told me that it was prior to us dating and I trust him" Velma looked at her watch, "I gotta go"

Velma took money out of her purse and paid her half of the bill before leaving Daphne to her thoughts.

Daphne looked down at her still flat tummy and whispered, "I wish your daddy was Fred Jones...I mean I love your daddy, but it's not the strong kind of love"

Pretty soon Daphne got up and left the Malt Shop after paying the rest of the bill, not wanting to go home right away the former damsel in distress decided to walk around the mall.

The redhead had been aimlessly wondering around the Coolsville Mall not looking at anything particular, when she thought of an evil plan to try and make Fred hers permanently although it most definitely would ruin her engagement with Bram however

Fred was worth it, she finally headed outside and noticed the sky had grown dark.

"Jeepers! It's late" Daphne cried out as she made her way to where her car was parked, as she drove back to the apartment that she shared with Bram she began to think about how she was going to pull this scheme off.

Back at Shaggy and Scooby's home, the friends were fast asleep and Shaggy was dreaming about Crystal.

_Dream:_

_"I hope you can forgive us for deceiving you," she said, standing in front of the beam of light that was being projected down from the spaceship hovering just above. Her black hair shone magnificently; of course, he knew it wasn't really her hair, but part of her disguise. That didn't matter to him though. He would always remember her as having that long, shiny black hair, and that smooth, tan skin._

_"Yeah. Like, we understand," he answered, giving her a small smile to let her know that he meant what he said. _

_"You really are a groovy guy, Shaggy," she stated with a smile now on her face as well, as she moved close to him and reached out for his hands, looking him straight in the eyes he loved her big hazel eyes he had to force himself to remember that those weren't really her eyes… those were part of her disguise as well._

_"I hope you will always think of me as… a friend." A friend. That was all. That was all that they could possibly ever be, considering…" Crystal continued. _

_He knew that. He knew that all too well. But it still made his heart ache, and a pang of hurt flow through his brain._

_"Of course, Crystal," he answered, trying to keep up his facade,"I just wish that… well… you know…" _

_She nodded, understanding. He liked to imagine that, to a degree, she wasn't just doing that in sympathy… that she might actually feel the same way about him. "I'm looking for someone too," she said softly. She looked away from him, down at the ground, which __made his heart just about melt. _

_She looked back up at him in a mere second, and her eyes met his once more,"But they say that long distance relationships never work out," she finished, giving him a small, sad smile._

_"Yeah." Shaggy murmured sadly. _

_He could hear Fred beginning to cry in the background, but he ignored it. He wasn't going to spend a second of this little time with Crystal that he had left thinking of anyone but her. He couldn't be sure that he would ever get to see her again, after all._

_Scooby and Amber were saying goodbye as well, right next to where he stood. But he _

_didn't look over; he couldn't invade on that._

_"Thanks everyone, we had a great adventure." Crystal began speaking again, this time, to the rest of Mystery Inc._

_Shaggy turned around now, to look at his friends, even if it meant he was going to be looking away from Crystal._

_"...And made new friends," she continued, looking back at Shaggy. He felt his eyes on her, and he turned his head around almost too quickly, finding himself lost in her eyes once more._

_He was so lost that he almost didn't realize what happened next. As he smiled sadly at her, she moved closer, and, for a brief second, their lips met, just as he had imagined. It was short and sweet, but he knew that he would always treasure it forever: that quick moment where their lips connected. A glimpse at what never could have been._

_He was sure he had a stupid look on his face, now that she was pulling away, but he knew there was probably no way he could hide it; so he just smiled in a goofy way and put his hand up to his lips self-consciously, closing his eyes and revealing in the moment: a moment he was sure would play in his mind over and over again, perhaps for the rest of his life._

_When he finally got around to open his eyes again, Crystal was already moving back __towards the beam, and was soon standing in the light, Amber by her side. Her bittersweet smile still occupied her face as she lifted up her hand, waving goodbye to the group, to him._

_A powerful wind seemed to blow on the two, creating a roar of sound, although Shaggy couldn't feel it. He was sure none of the gang could feel it either; it seemed to be coming from above, from some unseen force coming from the spaceship._

_Her black mane of hair lifted up from her neck and blew upwards around her head, like a halo. He thought that was a fitting image for her in his mind… a groovy angel. His groovy angel._

_As the wind-like force continued to blow upon both Crystal and Amber, they slowly __faded to their true forms… their alien forms. The reason they couldn't be together. The thing that kept them apart._

_Crystal's body was now bordering on transparent; not because of anything that the beam was doing to them, but because that was her body. She had turned a light blue in color, with only a few spots and swirls on her that were a darker blue. _

_She looked very much like a human's picture of a stereotypical alien aside from her coloration: she sported the long, thin figure of an alien, coupled with fingers that matched, and a large, round head. Amber was a different story. She looked almost reptilian, with a long neck, green, scaly skin, and a head shaped like a scythe, complete with large, piercing yellow eyes. They were quite a sight to see, certainly. They might have been downright frightening; in fact, they had been when he had first seen them in their true forms._

_But that was the real Crystal and Amber, as much as he would have liked to deny it. That was the girl he was convinced that he had fallen for at first sight. That was his groovy angel. His groovy, alien angel._

_He hoped that he was hiding his emotions as he waved goodbye, but he doubted that he was. He had always had a very expressive face, and he was sure that she could see that he was still obviously shocked by her appearance. But it was more than that. There was a pain present… one that wouldn't go away. Because despite the fact that she was an alien, and despite the fact that she had deceived him in that regard… he knew that he was still in love with her. _

_It was something that he knew that no one would understand… so he wouldn't tell anyone, except perhaps Scooby. Despite all the deceit, and all the weirdness over the course of that day that they had known each other, he knew that there was no one else that he would ever want, no one else who would be as perfect for him as Crystal was. And now, he was losing her. He would never see her again._

_As she looked at them with her large, alien eyes, Shaggy saw a smile cross her face. It was small, as it had been before… but it was there. And he knew that it was a smile that said that she was sad that she had to go. It was a smile that seemed to hold a promise… a promise to never forget him._

_And so, then and there, he promised himself something too. He promised that, as long as he lived, he would never forget Crystal. Even if he never saw her again, which was very likely, she would always be there, in his thoughts. _

_He would go on with his life, he would be happy. He would try to fall in love again, with someone of his own species, this time. But, forever, he would always think of Crystal, and the special time that they had had together. He would keep her memory safe, locked deep inside his heart, a depth that no one but himself knew existed._

_He watched forlornly as she raised her hand up once more in a goodbye, and the light closed around them, leaving no evidence that, moments before, two aliens had been standing there. It was as if they had never come. There was nothing left behind of them, no pictures, no technology. _

_He was sure that Crystal had already arranged for her Jeep, and all of her gear to be picked up before she went home; she would have to have been careful like that to be chosen for her mission. No… nothing would be left._

_Except for his memory. That would still be there. His memory, and the memory of his friends. They were the only ones who would ever know about the real Crystal and Amber, aside from the SALF scientists… but they were probably going to a federal prison, so they would hardly matter now. No… the only ones who could ever have exposed Crystal and Amber were himself and his friends, and they would never do that. And so, Crystal and Amber would remain a secret among Mystery Inc. alone. He was sure of that much._

_The ship, beam now completely gone, was quick to move up into the sky, away from the space it had occupied in an open space at the top of the cave. It rose high above the earth, and then, quick as a flash, it zoomed away, faster than the speed of light, leaving only a flash of light among the stars. Just like that, she was gone, away from Earth, away from everything. Just like that, she was probably galaxies away. Just like that, he had lost her._

_He knew he had stood there, looking up at the sky for some time afterwards. Of course, the rest of the gang was ready to go soon, and, as much as he would have liked to stay, he needed to go with them to call the government and turn in the SALF scientists. There was no way he could stay. _

_He took one last look up at the sky, the sky that, somewhere, held the secret of the location of his interstellar angel. Giving a heavy sigh, he turned and left, following the rest of the gang into the dark expanse of tunnels that made up the cave._

Shaggy woke up slowly, eyes taking a few minutes to adjust to the morning sunlight pouring through his bedroom window.

He didn't mean to, but he let out a loud, heavy sigh, which caused Scooby, who was sleeping at the foot of the bed, to stir. The Great Dane slowly opened one eye, and then turned his head to look at Shaggy.

"Ris romthing rong, Rhaggy?" Scooby asked Shaggy concernedly before letting out a long yawn, then rolled over onto his back, wagging his tail, "Ris rit rime ror reakrast?"

Shaggy laughed, looking at his best friend, and pulling himself out of bed, letting his bare feet touch the cold wooden floor it gave him a chill, but that was to be expected, as he had just crawled out of his warm, comfortable bed.

"Like, you know it, Scoob," he replied, mid-laugh. "Like, let's go get something to eat. I'll call up the rest of the gang, and see if they want to hit the Malt Shop with us"

"Rokay, Rhaggy!" Scooby replied enthusiastically, licking his lips for extra emphasis.

Neither paid any mind that malts were not a reasonable breakfast; neither really cared. All that mattered was that they loved food, and that was somewhere where they could get it cheap and easily enough.

As Shaggy made his way into the bathroom to take a shower, he pushed the thoughts of the dream from his mind. It wasn't the first time he had dreamt about Crystal since that day some years before. It most likely wouldn't be the last time either.

As he turned on the shower and let his pajamas drop to the floor, he found consolation

in what always made him feel better; the thought that in a few minutes, he would be enjoying food more specifically, a steaming hot plate of French fries and a chocolate malt.

When he felt that he was clean enough Shaggy got out of the shower and got dressed before him and Scooby left the house for the Malt Shop.

When they entered the diner they spotted Velma and Johnny at a booth looking over a book of some sort.

Shaggy was about to leave them alone and respect their privacy that is until Scooby ran over to them happily.

"Ri Relma!" the Great Dane said happily as he gave the young woman a friendly lick causing her to giggle while Shaggy walked over to them.

"Hiya Scooby, hi Shaggy. Its nice to see you here" Velma said adjusting her glasses.

"Like, sorry we bothered ya" Shaggy said sheepishly.

"Your fine Shaggy, but we do have news to share with the gang" Velma said the smile on her face never faltering.

Johnny looked at his watch before scooting out of the booth, "I gotta get to work" the muscular blonde gave the brunette woman a quick peck on the lips before bolting out the door.

Fred soon walked in clearly in a bad mood because he didn't say hi when he sat down at the table.

"Is everything alright Freddy?" Velma asked.

"She knows it can't be mine! We haven't slept together" Fred grumbled not bothering to explain.

"Thorn's pregnant and it's not yours?" Velma questioned trying to make sense of the former self-proclaimed leader.

"What no, well Thorn is pregnant and it is mine...but-" Fred started to say when the door to the Malt Shop opened and someone stormed in.

"Jones!" Bram yelled standing just a few feet from where the friends were seated.

Sighing Fred got up and looked at the former troupe member saying, "I swear that Daph and I haven't done anything. I'm getting married at the end of the year and going to be a father in nine months"

At hearing what Bram was accusing Fred of, Velma and Shaggy came to their friends defense.

"Fred wouldn't do that he loves Thorn way too much to hurt her in that way" Velma said.

"Like Velms is right, and like besides Fred doesn't see Daph that way anymore since he and Thorn got together" Shaggy added.

"Then why is Daphne claiming that she could be pregnant by him" Bram snarled looking at Fred.

"I honestly don't know what's going on with her, we haven't had a civil conversation in over three years" Fred said raising his hands up earnestly.

This was true ever since Fred and Thorn reconnected at one of her concerts, Daphne had been picking fights with the blonde haired man and if she wasn't picking fights, she was flat out ignoring him.

"Well Daphne said that you might be the possible father, so what would you think if you were me" Bram said backing off the offensive a little.

"I haven't even been near her" Fred said honestly a bit miffed about what Daphne was trying to pull.

"When did Daphne say this all happened?" Velma asked looking at Bram.

"A few months ago, why?" Bram asked his curiosity getting the better of him.


End file.
